Sparring weapon

ABSTRACT

A sparring weapon for realistic martial arts sparring includes a handle, a blade formed of and/or covered with impact-absorbing padding, and extending from the handle. An elongate cavity is located within the blade, and a weight is provided within the cavity to be repositioned therealong to thereby adjust balance and handling characteristics of the weapon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention concerns sparring weapons. The invention more specifically, although not exclusively, concerns martial arts sparring weaponry for providing training realism without causing casualties to the combatants.

[0002] If people were to spar with real weapons, injury would be almost inevitable. Many less-than-ideal “safe” sparring weapons have been proposed. For the traditionally inclined, there are bamboo and wooden weapons, however these do not share the real weapon's weight and balance. Also, these would hurt the combatants badly if used in full-contact (full force, full speed) sparring. For the safety-conscious, there are air-filled or super lightweight cylindrical sparring weapons. However, these are far from realistic in their handling characteristics. Also, such weapons cannot parry an incoming blow.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages and to provide an improved sparring weapon having realistic handling characteristics, yet remaining safe for full-contact and full body-targeting sparring exercises.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0004] There is disclosed herein a sparring weapon comprising:

[0005] a handle,

[0006] a striking member extending from the handle,

[0007] an elongate cavity located within the striking member, and

[0008] weight(s) located within the cavity and repositionable therealong and/or attached externally of the weapon to thereby adjust balance and handling characteristics of the weapon.

[0009] The striking member is typically formed of and/or covered with impact-absorbing padding.

[0010] The impact-absorbing padding typically comprises foam.

[0011] The impact-absorbing padding is preferably covered with a finishing-off material.

[0012] The finishing-off material might be leather.

[0013] The striking member is typically substantially blade-shaped.

[0014] The cavity is generally defined by a rigid tubular insert.

[0015] The tubular insert is typically formed of PVC pipe.

[0016] The cavity preferably extends into the handle.

[0017] The weight might fit tightly within the tubular insert.

[0018] Additionally and/or alternatively, the weight is secured to the tubular insert by fasteners.

[0019] The cavity would typically be accessible via a butt of the handle to enable repositioning and/or exchange of the weight and/or the addition of an extra weight or weights.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompany drawings, wherein:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective illustration of a sparring weapon,

[0022]FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional elevational view of the weapon of FIG. 1 showing a weight positioned therein,

[0023]FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional elevational view of the weapon of FIG. 2 having another weight positioned therein, and

[0024]FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional elevational view of the weapon of FIG. 1 having no weight within the cavity, but having an additional balancing weight positioned at the hilt or handle as a pommel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] The accompanying drawings show a sparring weapon 10 having a hilt or handle 11 and a striking blade member 12. There is also a hand guard 13 positioned between the blade 12 and handle 11. The hand guard 13 might be mounted upon a guard-suspension system. Furthermore, the hilt or handle could be provided with a realistic finish to allow the user to determine where the edge and flats are located on the blade.

[0026] Within the weapon 10 there is located a rigid tubular member 14 typically of PVC plastics pipe, but alternatively formed of any rigid or substantially rigid material such as copper pipe for example. PVC tubing is chosen for its light weight and good strength. The tube 14 defines an elongate cavity 15 extending substantially the full length of the blade 12 and into the handle 11. In fact, the tube 14 extends the whole way to the butt end 16 of the handle 11.

[0027] Located within the cavity 15 is a weight 22 that can be repositioned along the cavity as desired in order to simulate the weight and balance of the real weapon mimicked by the sparring weapon 10. The weight 22 might fit tightly within the tube 14, or there might be provided screws or other fasteners that extend through apertures in the tube 14 for example. A small diameter PVC pipe 17 can be positioned above the weight 22 to help in fixing the location of the weight below it along the cavity. As an alternative structure, the weight 22 might be provided within a cylindrical casing that can be turned by a tool passing through the opening at the butt end 16 so as to press a cam 18 against the inside surface of the tube 14. The mechanism might be like that of 9 telescopic pole for example.

[0028] The tube 14 is covered by an impact-absorbing padding material 19 of variable or preselected thickness. This might be close-cell foam, cloth or other elastically yielding, durable material that is substantially non-injurious to a sparring partner. The padding 19 can be covered by a finishing-off material 20 such as leather. Depending on the actual weapon to be mimicked by the sparring weapon 10, the finishing-off material 20 might be material other than leather. For example metallic-looking plastics material could be adopted.

[0029] Weaponry martial artists can spar with the present weapon in earnest intensity and intention, without the worry of injuring their sparring partner in the process. A full range of techniques including thrusting, chopping cuts, slicing cuts, parries, deflections and binds can be performed without the need to “pull back” at the last moment before impact. As a result, the martial artist can refrain from developing bad habits in sparring exercises.

[0030] Real weapons have a natural weight and centre of gravity. This can be replicated in the sparring weapons of the present invention by appropriate choice of weight cylinders 17 and positioning and tightening where appropriate.

[0031] Where a screw is used to fix the weight 22 in place, as the screw is inserted through the tube 14, it will merge the impact absorbing layer 19 onto the tube 14. Double-sided tape can then be applied around the material 19 to provide the real weapon's bladed geometry. The edges and tip of the blade 12 can be provided with additional padding, and the flat sides of the blade might be provided with less padding. This will reduce the unnatural cylindrical appearance that might otherwise results. Reinforcement might be provided at the tip of the blade 12 to prevent breakage during hard thrusts.

[0032] The application of a piece of cow skin on the flat sides of the blade can achieve this. The hand guard 13 might be fabricated from wooden or plastic rod. A number of straps of cow skin pieces attached to the blade can secure the hand guard in place. Finally, a thick piece of cow skin 20 can protect the impact absorption layer 19. In addition to providing the overall structure of the sparring weapon, the cow skin or other finishing-off material 20 provides weight that can complement the mass of the weight or weights 22 within the tube 14. Two strips of silver tape can be added to the blade to indicate the position of the blade's edges.

[0033] The handle or hilt 11 can be formed as a pair of wooden rods wrapped in a piece of cow skin to provide an oval-shaped cross-section.

[0034] Regardless of the method of forming the handle or hilt 11, balancing weight can be added to it at the butt end 16 as a pommel shown in FIG. 4.

[0035] The weapon 10 can then be weighed to determine the extent to which it departs from the real weapon's weight and balance. The cylindrical weight or weights 22 can then be added, positioned and fixed in place as appropriate.

[0036] European and Chinese styled weapons can feature a pommel and hollow cylinders can be placed at the end of the hilt 11 to simulate real balance. After the ideal position of the weight cylinders 17 is found, they can be fixed in place by applying additional cow skin wrapping from the outside. In addition, small diameter dowels or lightweight rods such as PVC can be inserted into the tube 14 to fill the cavity 15 at either or both ends of the weight or weights 22 to prevent lengthwise shifting of the weights in use of the weapon. Additionally and/or alternatively, screws can be used as described earlier.

[0037] Additional padding can be added to the transverse ends of the hand guard 13 as well as the pommels to prevent injury during pommel and guard strikes.

[0038] In addition to the depicted embodiment, many different models of sparring weapon can deploy the invention herein to meet the needs of different cultures when crossing swords with a fellow practitioner. This will open up a whole new world of cross-training in martial arts weaponry. For example, the invention can be applied to daggers, katanas, long swords, daos, jians, rapiers, sword-and-shield swords and barongs, befitting a whole spectrum of styles. 

1. A sparring weapon comprising: a handle, a striking member extending from the handle, an elongate cavity located within the striking member, and weight(s) located within the cavity and repositionable therealong and/or attached externally of the weapon to thereby adjust balance and handling characteristics of the weapon.
 2. The sparring weapon of claim 1 wherein the striking member is formed of and/or covered with impact-absorbing padding.
 3. The sparring weapon of claim 2 wherein the impact-absorbing padding comprises foam.
 4. The sparring weapon of claim 2 wherein the impact-absorbing padding is covered with a finishing-off material.
 5. The sparring weapon of claim 4 wherein the finishing-off material is leather.
 6. The sparring weapon of claim 1 wherein the striking member is substantially blade-shaped.
 7. The sparring weapon of claim 1 wherein the cavity is defined by a rigid tubular insert.
 8. The sparring weapon of claim 7 wherein the tubular insert is formed of PVC pipe.
 9. The sparring weapon of claim 1 wherein the cavity extends into the handle.
 10. The sparring weapon of claim 7 wherein the weight fits tightly within the tubular insert.
 11. The sparring weapon of claim 7 wherein the weight is secured to the tubular insert by fasteners.
 12. The sparring weapon of claim 9 wherein the cavity is accessible via a butt of the handle to enable repositioning and/or exchange of the weight and/or the addition of an extra weight or weights. 